The Ring Thing
by Emiliana Huxley
Summary: Brotherhood AU/Numb3rs crossover. But no real mention of Numb3rs. It's just a Dean/Colby friendship. slash - Summery: Something's really wrong with Caleb.


The Ring Thing

Summary: Something's wrong with Caleb

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. All the amazing guy's belongs to Eric Kripke. Caleb also belongs to Ridley C. James and her wonderful creation of The Brotherhood. I don't want to make any profit with this. It's just my imagination ...

Autors notes:  Many, many month ago a wrote a story that isn't published yet in which Dean found a new friend named Colby. It's a crossover to Numb3rs and Colby and Dean established a gay relationship in this story. They meet once a year around Colby's birthday. And no one except Sammy knows about it. I have to say that I'm not the type to write a gay story. But I like the combination. And I don't know if I'm allowed to dug in into Ridley's sandbox this deep...

This story takes place when Caleb, Dean and Sam takes over for the new triad.

Ridley: Sorry for that and when I'm not allowed to do this that write ma a message and I'll remove this story.

FYI: My Office version don't show me any signs of spelling mistakes. I hope there are not so many grammar mistakes in it, because English is not my first language... But I hope it's understandable.

"No, no you don't really mean that!" Dean watched his friend as he laid his ring in his palm. "Sorry Deuce, but I can't do this anymore." "But why?" "Look at you. You're in a hospital, again. It's the third time in the last three month. Obviously I'm not good at this protect-you-thing. Hell, it was my fault that you are here." "Damn right. You insisted that I come here. I would be fine at the motel. But no, you had to drag my ass to the ER! Don't complain about it now!" "Sorry but ..." Caleb stopped and turned around. Dean watched, terrified as his best friend was about to leave him there and quit hunting. "NO!" he screamed. "Please!" But Caleb had already left the room. "Sonofabitch!" Dean looked at the ring in his hand and sighed.

A few minutes later Sam entered the room. "Hey Dean, the nurse told me that you are allowed to leave the hospital. But you should keep it low. And Mac called. He need my help with some research. I have to go to New York." "Okay. But you better rent a car. I have something to do." "What?" "I … I … Sammy, I need a break. I'm tired and I think I need a little vacation." "What about a vacation in New York? We could go to a baseball game." "Thanks, but no. I think I need a little time for myself. Don't worry, I'll get you when I'm done."

"Dean? Do you want to tell me something?" "No, I'm just really tired and pissed. And I have to think about some things. That's all." "What are you pissed about?" "Later Sammy, okay?" Dean looked at his brother and Sam could see the desperate look in his brothers eyes. "Okay. But maybe you can drop me at the airport?" "Sure."

When Dean had dropped his brother he took the next highway that would bring him to California.

Colby was in the kitchen to refill the bowl with the crackers as his doorbell rang. He apologized to his friends and opened the door, expecting the pizza, but found Dean instead. "Oh my … what … why …?" "Hey Colby. Am I inconvenient?" Dean asked with a small smile.

But Colby couldn't answer. He grabbed his friend and hugged him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He pushed Dean at arms length and studied him. He moved his hand over the other mans torso, relieved that he couldn't find any injury, but noticed the little flinching at his touch. "I'm fine." Dean grabbed the other mans hand. "Really?" "Yeah." With that Colby again hugged the hunter. "I missed you." He whispered in Deans ear. Dean exhaled and buried his face in the other mans shoulder. "I missed you too." The two friends stood there for almost an eternity, Colby's hand caressing the other mans neck when they heard someone clear his throat. With a start the men parted and stared at the newcomer. Colby stuttered. "David, this is an old friend of mine. His name is Dean. Dean, this is my partner at the FBI, David." "Hey." Both men winked. "We wondered where you and the pizza could be. But I see, you have important things to work out." "No, it's okay. I didn't know that he would come around. It was a surprise. David, please, ..." "No problem. I'll tell the others that you are right back and that we have another guest."

When David left, Colby turned back to his friend. Tenderly he caressed Deans cheek and the hunter almost leant in the touch. "I'm glad you're here. Do you want to join in in our little poker game?" Colby explained while he brought his friend to the living room. There at a table sat three other people. "Hey guys. I want to introduce you to my old friend Dean. Dean, this is David, Don and Megan. We're working in a team at the FBI." Dean played horrified. "You want me to play poker with your FBI friends?" "Yeah." "Colby, are you sure?" "Yeah, but maybe you can left them some of their money. It's David's turn to pay for lunch tomorrow." "Maybe..." And the horrified look changed and then there was something mischievous in Deans eyes.

After all the guest lost almost all their money to Dean they went home. Colby and Dean made themselves comfortable on the couch and watched some TV. Colby put his arm around Deans shoulder and pulled him near. Dean snuggled in the embrace and almost fell asleep. "What happened?" "Hum?" Colby repeated his question. "What happened that you stopped by?" "Life." Colby accepted that, knowing that Dean would tell him when he is ready. "I asked Don to have a few days off before he left. He was okay with it when our latest case is solved. I hope that we can catch the bad guy tomorrow. Can I leave you here alone til then?" "Sure. I have to call Sammy and then I will take a bath and relax a little bit. I'm here for vacation." "You know, you can stay here as long as you want. I appreciate it. I'm always happy when you're here." With that Colby grabbed Deans chin and turned his head so that he could look in the beautiful green eyes. He placed a soft kiss on the other mans lips followed by another and another one. "I love you Dean." And with that Colby laid down on the couch and pulled Dean in his arms, holding him until they both fell asleep.

The next days the men spent their free time together. In the morning they took a walk at the beach and then cooked some meal. In the evening they watched some movies or had a few drinks in bars near Colby's apartment. They visited the zoo and spent some time at the beach surfing. But the whole time Dean didn't talk about the incident that made him come to California.

It was on the sixth day that Dean got a phone call from his brother. "Hey Sammy, how you guys doing?" "Just fine. We finished our research and sent Bobby to take care of the job. Do you want to know what it was about?" "No, not really. It's finished, right?" "Yeah. How you doin'?" "Oh, I have a great time here. Why do you ask?" "I hadn't heard from you quite a time and I thought … you know … ?" "Yeah, everything's just fine. I would like to stay here for another few days if that's okay with you." "Sure Dean. As long as you want. But let me ask you, where are you exactly?" "I'm in LA. I stay with ..." "Colby?" Sam interrupted. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" "Pure curiosity. But I have to ask you a question." "Shoot." Dean became nervous. "Did you speak to Caleb in the last days?" "No. Why?" "He is not his usual annoying self. And he asked me about you." "Well, ignore him. Maybe he's upset because I didn't answer his calls." "Dean, what happened between the two of you?" "Maybe you should ask that Caleb. And don't tell him where I am. Please." "This bad?" "He really didn't tell you?" "No." "Then maybe he has his reasons. Please Sammy, let it be." "Okay." "Okay then. Say Greetings to Mac and have a nice time. And have fun!" "Dean." "No Sammy, you should go to a bar and have some fun." "Maybe. Take care of you. And say Hi to Colby from me. Bye." "Sure. I call you when I start here to pick you up. Bye."

Colby sat next to his friend and listened to the phone call. "Was that your brother?" "Yeah. He told me to say Hi." "How's he doing?" "Oh, he enjoys his time away from me. I guess he's sitting in the library the whole day and try to find some information to plug into his brain til it explodes. Maybe find another hunt." "And who is Caleb? You never talked about him." "Nobody. I don't want to talk about him." Colby sat straight and looked his friend over when it came to him. "You two had a fight." "No." "And I think that he is a really good friend of yours." "Really? How you came to that?" "Well, the way you try to ship around the topic. What happened?" Dean sighed. "Dean, tell me about it. Or I'll ask you until you do." "Okay, okay."

"Do you remember the scars on my right side?" "Hell, yeah." Colby answered. When Dean stopped by it was the first thing he discovered after they went to bed and Colby stripped his friend. He clearly could remember the shock when he saw the nasty scars all over the torso of the young man in front of him. He could remember how they felt when he run his hand over it. But Dean refused to talk about it. "Caleb and I were on a hunt around last Christmas. I thought it was a werewolf. I killed it but there was another one. And, as you know, they didn't usually hunt as a couple. So I was surprised. It got Caleb and me. I killed it but we were in the middle of a forrest and it started to snow heavily. We stuck in an emergency shelter until Caleb brought me out at dawn. It was really close, but I survived." "But ..." But Dean continued. "Well, after a small hunt with Sammy I met with Damien to hunt a poltergeist. I saved his life and sprained my ankle." "Damien?" Colby interrupted. "Caleb's nickname." "Okay, what happened next?" "When I was fit for the next hunt, a simple salt and burn last week that Caleb allowed me to join him, the angry ghost got me. He was a really nasty sonofabitch and he threw me into a grave marker what brought me bruised ribs and an really pissed off Damien." When Dean didn't tell the rest of the story Colby asked. "That's the reason for your flinching when I first searched you for injuries. But why are you ignore his calls?" "He brought me to the ER. I told him that it's not broken. But he didn't believe me. And when we were at the hospital, right before I was released, he gave me his ring." "I don't understand." "I told you about the brotherhood and ..." "Oh, this ring. He kind of resigned." "Yeah, when I think about it then I have to say that he didn't wear his ring since our stay at the hospital after the werewolf. However, now he want to talk to me but I'm not in the mood and condition to deal with him." "That's okay." "No, I kind of hide here." "And I'm happy that you do that." Dean grinned at his friend and kissed him. The kiss went deeper and deeper and soon they found themselves on the living room carpet.

The next morning Colby finished his shower and let Dean in when it rang at the door. Colby opened and looked at a dark haired man that was a little bit taller than he. "Can I help you?" "Is Dean here?" "Ehm, who are you?" "My name is Caleb Reaves and I'm a friend of Dean. Is he here?" "He's in the shower. Come in, I'll tell him that you are here." "Thanks."

Caleb took a seat on the couch while Colby went to the bathroom. He opened the door a little bit. "Dean?" "Yeah?" "You have a visitor." "Who is it?" "Your long lost friend Caleb." Dean stopped and stared at the door that was already closed. So he stepped out of the shower, dried himself a little bit and get some clothes and a ring from his duffel, took a deep breath and came out to face his brother.

When Dean entered the living room he found the both men talking. "What do you want here?" He wanted to know. "What's wrong with you?" Caleb demanded. "What? What's wrong with you? What do you want here? How do you know where to find … Sam!" "If it helps you, he didn't tell me." Dean took a deep breath. "Okay, now that you're here. What do you want from me? You quit, remember?" "I just want to apologize." Dean looked Caleb over. "For what?" "That I dragged you to the hospital. I was scared and I wanted to be on the safe side after all the shit that happened during the last month. And I hadn't the right to blame you for the visit there." Dean took the ring from his jeans pocket and held it out to Caleb. "So you want this back?" "No. That's not the reason why I'm here." "Damien ..." "Don't Damien me. I'm done with all this stuff." "Damien, please. I need you to be with me." "No." "Caleb, you owe this to the brotherhood." "No." "Yes! They cared about you. They gave you a family. But when this is not enough then you owe this to me." "What? No! I'm not coming back." "Our whole lives we were trained to be the next triad. We were always there for another and there is no backup plan anymore. Yeah, you owe it to the brotherhood and Sammy and me. You owe this to Jim and Dad and also Mac. Do he know what you did?" "No." "Do you really want to leave now? With the apocalypse looming and all this stuff?" "Yes." "But why Damien, why? Why do you want to throw your life away?" "Deuce, it was always my job to protect you. And I always failed. I can't do this anymore." "But you saved my life more than once." "But I obviously can't stop you from getting hurt." "You talk about the werewolf couple?" "Yes … no … I don't know. It's all this stuff that happened lately. I can't stand it to see you getting hurt anymore. I'm done with it." "So you don't want this back?" "No, destroy it." "Damien, please. You can't deny what and especially who you are." "And who am I Deuce?" "My best friend, my big brother. The guy that saved my life so often I cannot count anymore. Please Damien. Don't do this to me. Without you there will be no triad, no brotherhood anymore. All the things that I, that we fought for our whole lives would be gone." Caleb looked into his friends green eyes. "I'm sorry Deuce. I can't." Dean saw the determination in his friend. So he decided to pull his last joker. He concentrated on the ring in his palm and watched it turn into water and dropping down onto the carpet. "Are you happy now?" Caleb wasn't shocked to see the tears in Deans eyes. But he couldn't help himself. He turned around and walked to the door. "I'm sorry Deuce." And with that he left the apartment.

Colby stared at Deans hand, unable to believe what he saw there. But before he could say anything Dean lost it and crumbled to the ground. "DEAN!" Colby tried to catch him but he was too late. So he picked Dean carefully up and carried him to the bedroom to lay him down. Worried, he watched the unconscious hunter and then he grabbed Dean's cell and called Sam. When the phone rang he heard Dean say: "Tell him to bring Mac." The Agent was startled. When Sam answered his phone he said: "Hey Sam, this is Colby. I need you to come to California. … Yeah. … And if you don't mind bring a guy named Mac with you. … He, I don't know for sure but I could swear that he let a ring disappear. And after that Caleb left the apartment and he broke down. I never saw him like this. Sammy, please can you explain to me what happened? … Sure … no, I took care of him … yeah, see you soon … til then … by." And with that Colby ended the call and recognized that Dean was already asleep.

Only a few hours later when it was dawn the doorbell at Colby's apartment rang. He jumped out of bed and opened the door. "Hey Sam, nice to see you again. I guess this is Mac?" "Yeah. Nice to see you too. And yeah, this is Mac." "Macland Ames." The former scholar stretched his hand out and Colby grabbed it. "My name's Colby. I'm a friend of Dean." "How is he?" Sam wanted to know. "Oh, he's sleeping. I'm going to wake him up. You know my home. Suit yourself and take what you want." Sam smiled and made his way to the kitchen to cook some coffee.

Ten minutes later Dean came from the bedroom and sat next to Mac. "What's wrong here?" The older man wanted to know. "It's Caleb. I think that he is possessed." "What?" Mac and Sam asked simultaneously. "He came around and asked me to destroy his ring that he left with me a few weeks ago. So I did as he asked for and destroyed a ring." "How could you do this?" The other hunters sprang to their feet and looked disbelievingly. "I didn't remove his ring. But he thinks that I did." "And whose ring was it?" "Jim's."

After a while of silence the other hunters asked: "And now? What do you think is best now?" "Mac, you should call him. He should come here again. Make sure he does. And then we will wait for him, trap him and do a really good exorcism."

Despite another idea the other two hunters agreed with Dean and Mac baited Caleb to Colby's apartment. Dean wanted Colby to wait in the bedroom. "Please babe. Stay here. It's really risky. And it doesn't matter what you hear from your living room. Promise me to stay here, okay?" "Okay." "Promise me!" with a sigh Colby gave in and answered: "I promise." "Thank you. I love you." "Love you too." Colby said and closed the bedroom door.

Colby heard the front door open and a discussion in his living room. He heard a loud rumbling and decided to screw his promise and entered the living room. "Oh, hi Colby. Nice to meet you again!" But before the agent could answer he was thrown through the room, hit the wall and landed on the floor next to Dean. The next thing he heard was a scream and then Mac and Sam reading some … Latin? When he came around again he saw Caleb sitting on a chair in the middle of a cruel drawing on his floor, that he didn't recognized earlier and Sam and Mac shutting books. Colby assumed that they read from them and next to him he saw Dean, lying on the floor and bleeding from several minor wounds on his body.

"What the hell happened?" Colby wanted to know, crawling to his friends side and kneeling next to him. "Dean?" he gently stroked his head.

Dean came around with a gasp. "What the hell …?" He sat up and looked around. "Colby? You okay?" "Yeah." "Caleb?" "There." Colby pointed to the chair in the middle of his living room. Dean sighed when he saw his friend and made his way over there. "Is he okay?" He asked Mac and his brother. "We think so. The demon is back in hell." Dean felt for a pulse and sighed when he found it strong and steady. Colby stood next to him. "Dean? What was this?" "An exorcism." "And what happened to you?" "He beat me to hell before I could lure him into the trap." "And what now?"

"Nothing. The demon's gone." he explained to his friend. And to Mac he said: "Mac, you can bring him to the bedroom. Sammy, can you help him, please?"

When the others were gone Dean turned to Colby. But before he could say anything his vision went black and slipped into unconsciousness. But Colby grabbed him before he could hit the floor, gently picked him up and carried him to the bedroom where he laid him down next to the other hunter.

"What happened?" Sam wanted to know. "He passed out. Guessed it would be best that he lay down, too." Sam turned to his Mac. "What's wrong with him?" Mac explained: "Well, he got a pretty good beating from Caleb. And his ribs couldn't be healed by now. I guess, after what I witnessed that they are broken and that combined with the other hard punches sent him down. But I can't be sure until I examined him." With that the former scholar went to the other side of the bed and took a closer look and the younger hunter.

It's like what I said, his ribs are broken now. I have to patch him up. Maybe we could wake him. Or else it will be hard to accomplish the job. Colby immediately tried to wake up his friend. Gently he caressed his cheek and spoke soothingly to him, trying to avoid any nicknames. "Hey Dean, can you do me a favor and wake up? Please." After a few moments the hunter stirred and opened his eyes. "That's my boy. Hey, Dean. How you feeling?" "I hope someone had memorized the number of the truck that hit me." he stated. "I'm sorry to tell you that there wasn't any truck. Can you sit up for me? I'll help you, okay?" "Why?" "because the doc here told me that he have to patch your broken ribs up and I think that it would be a good idea." "Doc? Am I in a hospital?" "No ba.., no, It's your friend Mac." "Sammy?" "He's here too." "What hap... Shit, Damien!" "He's okay. He's right there next to you." Dean looked at his other side and saw Caleb asleep next to him. "What happened?" Sam cleared his throat and stepped in Deans view. "He was possessed. But we got rid of it and now he's sleeping. He blacked out after the demon went to hell." "But he's okay?" "Yeah, I guess so. But now you have to sit so that Mac can patch you up and you can go back to sleep. You took a really good beating from Caleb before we could trap him. Actually you was the one who trapped him. Good job, by the way?" "Yeah, but it was on accident." "What?" "I didn't know that there was a trap. The thanks belonged to Colby. Maybe he had drawn it the last time I was here. Or when I left. I didn't know about it." "What?" Mac and Sam asked simultaneously. "I'll explain it later guys, okay?" "Okay." Mac said and made quick work in patching Dean up. "Try to sleep." "No." "What?" "Wake me up when Damien get out of bed." "Okay." "Promise." Sam promised, knowing that he couldn't get his brother to sleep otherwise.

When Dean woke up the bed beside him was empty. "What the hell...!" he managed and got out of bed and in the kitchen where he found his friend. "Damien." "Hey Deuce." "Where are the others?" "Shopping. They're on their way to get some groceries." "They're supposed to wake me up when you're awake. But obviously … can I get a coffee?" "Sure." Caleb stood to grab a mug and pour his friend a coffee. "We need to talk." he said when he put the mug in front of his friend. Dean took a large sip of the dark brew. He sighed. "Start." "I'm so sorry Dean." "Stop. It wasn't your fault. You were possessed." "Yeah, maybe later on. But when I gave you my ring I was myself." "Okay, then explain to me why you did that." "It's hard and I think that you cannot understand. You couldn't than and now …" "Try me." "Okay, it were a few hard weeks. When I got you healed you ran into new trouble. When you recuperate from the nasty cuts from the werewolf incident you got the sprained ankle and then when you where okay you received a blow to your ribs. When you're okay you ran strait into the next catastrophe. I couldn't stand there and watch you get hurt. It's my job to protect you and obviously I'm not able to do that. And I thought that you're safer with me out of game." "Damien..." "Don't Damien me. I screwed up." "Maybe, maybe not. I'm alive thank you. You saved my life more than once. And you got me to the hospital in time. But you screwed up in one thing. You gave me your ring so the demon could possess you." "Yeah, I know." "But we are all not perfect. Can you remember my speech?" "Yeah, I was there. In the background. You can't imagine how I screamed but nothing came over my lips." "Well, do you want your ring back now?" "What?" "Do you want your ring back? And I won't ask another time." Caleb eyed his friend up disbelievingly. "As far I remember you destroyed the ring." "You thought it. And when I would have, what would stop me to get you a new one?" Dean asked his friend. "You didn't?" "Nope. But do you want it back?" "Damn, yeah!" "You're sure?" "Yeah." "Damien?" Dean shot his friend a serious look. "Yes Deuce, I want it back. I'm serious. I'm so sorry that I gave him back to you. And I would do anything to turn back the time and undo all the things that I'd done." "Okay. I'll forgive you. But please don't do it again. I need you. I need you in this war and I need you as a friend." Dean stated when he grabbed Caleb's ring from his pocket and laid on the desk. Caleb slipped the ring on finger, happy to have it back. "Thanks Dean. But now I have two questions for you." "Shoot." "Whose ring did you destroy when I was here a few days ago?" "Jim's" "Ouch. Sorry for that." "Oh, no worry. Jim would have understand it. And what is the other question?" "What is it with you and this FBI agent?" "What?" "I mean, he is a really nice guy, but I don't get it why you are on holiday with an FBI agent." Caleb asked. "Well … I'm sure you can't understand this." "Try me." "No!" "Dean!" "No. It's none of your business." "Deuce, do I have to read you?"

The End

A/N: I'm not sure that it is good when Caleb discovered the relationship between Dean and Colby. What do you think? Should I write another Chapter about that and how could it going? However, I would like to read some reviews – good or bad – they're welcome.


End file.
